How do I get involved with the technology scene? How do I effectively communicate my ideas? These questions kept me restless when I first moved to Seattle. I was eager to co-create and collaborate — hundreds of ideas filled my Evernote Journal that identified an opportunity or change. I kept the passion fueled by reading articles online. However, Ted Talks and Quora was not enough to satisfy my hunger for interaction and value creation.

I moved to Seattle with a finance degree from a top institution, but my interaction with engineers and STEM majors was limited. The move to Seattle was a shock. Casual conversations in coffee shops and meetups reinforced the idea that I had moved to a city of vibrantly educated individuals. The Epicenter of worldwide technological innovation was a walk down the street. Last year, venture capitalists invested $1.2 billion into Seattle area companies! I wanted to get involved! My level of enthusiasm kept increasing. I wanted to find a way to translate my complex ideas written in my cloud journal into simple solutions that were comprehensible and executable in the world we live in everyday.

Going forward, I decided that it was critical to tap into the active technology culture within the Seattle region. Resources to build upon my comprehensive knowledge. Participation in these communities and topics would enable me to gain a stronger understanding of industry beliefs, norms, and viewpoints. Utilization of local Seattle resources would be an outlet to train my mind to articulate my stories without a computer science degree yet still be an active participant in our technology-rich culture.

Constraints in one’s workplace, role or education should not be not ever directly impact one’s willingness and drive to learn. And the local resources available within the Seattle region should combat fear and intimidation. Trial and error has led me to be an advocate for collaboration and co-creation in the Seattle region. Educated and creative thinkers fill the Seattle technology scene who are willing and ready to engage with the community. But….

Don’t expect immediate feedback — leave the business card at home!

1. Ask the right questions — The ability to demonstrate a genuine interest to learn. It is key to cultivate an atmosphere of trust to increase engagement and involvement from practitioners.
2. Stay open to different perspectives — The ability to process the information and demonstrate a child-like inquisition will allow you increase your understanding for follow-up sessions.
3. Set short-term and long-term goals — What do you want to accomplish soon? Plan backwards and determine the steps required to achieve that goal. Start small and use the S.M.A.R.T. methodology.
4. Honest self-evaluation — Blind optimism and negative feedback will prevent clarity and progress of your goals. Find time to evaluate your mindfulness. Success requires that you are an active participant in your own evaluation.

Participating in these resources have allowed me to augment my education and experiences at a rapid pace. And it can be a way for an individual to spend a few hours of their week to learn new skill-sets that are capable of supporting their goals.

Based off of my experiences. I have developed a short list of resources/events.

• Startup Seattle
• Startup Weekend
• Startup Hall
• Hackernews Meetup
• MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest
• Co-Founders Lab
• Microsoft Ventures
• Seattle Tech Calendar
• Startup Digest
• Washington Technology Industry Association

The local resources provided an opportunity to enable dialog, diffuse knowledge and introduce a collaborative process -the face to face interaction was helpful as I learned and digested a new language. Attending the events at these local resources (with a purposeful action) reduced the fear and re-lit the inner passion to co-create with the community.